AXS Surges as Axie Infinity Debuts on Apple App Store

Axie Infinity's native cryptocurrency, AXS, experienced a significant surge after CoinDesk reported the launch of Axie's card-based game on the Apple app store. AXS soared over 12% following the news, accompanied by a surge in futures open interest, indicating an influx of capital. However, despite the price rally, perpetual futures funding rates remained negative, suggesting a bearish bias among traders.

Axie Infinity's Native Cryptocurrency AXS Surges Following Game Debut on Apple App Store

New York, NY, [Date] - The blockchain-based play-to-earn project Axie Infinity has experienced a significant surge in its native cryptocurrency, AXS, following news of its card-based strategy game debuting on the Apple App Store.

As reported by CoinDesk, AXS skyrocketed over 12%, climbing from $7.16 to $8.04, making it the top gainer on CoinDesk Indices' leaderboard. This marks the cryptocurrency's best single-day percentage gain since January 22nd.

The initial release of Axie Infinity on the Apple App Store grants access to users in Latin America and Asia, including Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The game has already garnered 1.5 million installations across all platforms. Axie Infinity's creator, Sky Mavis, aims to further expand its reach through collaborations with Google and Apple for mobile users.

Open Interest Spikes

Concurrent with AXS's price rally was a sharp increase in notional futures open interest, reflecting a significant inflow of funds into the market. According to Coinglass, this metric has risen from nearly $40 million to over $75 million, reaching its highest level since February.

Leverage Skewed to Bearish Side

Despite the bullish price action, the leverage in the market appeared skewed towards the bearish side. Funding rates in the perpetual futures market remained negative, indicating the prevalence of short positions. This suggests that investors may have taken bearish positions in the perpetual futures contracts as a hedge against potential price declines in the spot market, reflecting concerns about the sustainability of the price rally.

Conclusion

The debut of Axie Infinity's card-based strategy game on the Apple App Store has ignited a surge in its native cryptocurrency, AXS. While the game's expansion to new platforms is viewed as a positive development, the skewed leverage towards bearish positions remains a cautionary note for investors. It remains to be seen whether this price rally can be sustained or if the bears will regain control of the market.